Hundreds of documents from the infamous Salem Witch Trials of 1692 are being returned to the state Judicial Archives after being kept for more than four decades at the Peabody Essex Museum, officials said Thursday.
The Supreme Judicial Court, founded in the aftermath of the witch trials, said in a statement that the “transfer of court documents” from the museum’s Phillips Library to the state Judicial Archives were beginning after “the expansion and modernization of the Massachusetts State Archives facility in Boston.”
There are 527 documents in all, the court said.
Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Kimberly S. Budd thanked the museum for “its capable stewardship of these invaluable documents” and said she was “gratified that the state can now welcome the Salem Witch Trials documents home to the Judicial Archives.”
The state’s highest court “deeply appreciates the extraordinary public service that the museum has provided in caring for this unique collection for more than 40 years,” Budd said. “We look forward to future partnerships between the SJC and [museum] to help keep the teachings of the Salem Witch Trials alive.”
Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, the museum’s executive director and CEO, said the museum “is honored to have provided a safe and accessible repository for these invaluable and legendary court documents while the SJC worked to increase its archival capacity.”
“It is through the close study of authentic materials that we are able to humanize and more deeply understand the experience of the 25 men, women and children who lost their lives during the Salem Witch Trials,” she said.
The museum “is committed to telling the story of these events through exhibitions, lectures and public programs as well as by making reproductions of the Salem Witch Trial documents available to the public on our website,” she added.
Twenty-five people were executed or died in custody during the witch trials. The strange behavior of a few young girls led to swift accusations of witchcraft against some marginalized adults in the community, prompting the trials. On June 10, 1692, the first convicted defendant, Bridget Bishop, was hanged on what would become known as Proctor’s Ledge.
In all, more than 200 people were accused of witchcraft before the hysteria subsided. In 1711, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts acknowledged the injustice and paid restitution to families of the victims.
Material from prior Globe stories was used in this report.
Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.